Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Katerina Repponen and Pasi Nousiainen's Suhde and Sound Barrier, from Finland, at Brighton Fringe 2018
Previews

Brighton Fringe: Suhde/Sound Barrier

May 29, 2018
-
Posted by Ben Miller

As with much of Brighton Fringe’s intriguing Finnish season, a sense of mystery accompanies ‘Suhde’ and ‘Sound Barrier’. We know from their own descriptions that Katerina Repponen and Pasi Nousiainen are circus artists weighing 50kg and 100kg respectively, specialising in hand-to-hand acrobatics and foot juggling. Yet there’s little to suggest the way they can contort and balance their bodies in the opening moments of ‘Suhde’.

Essentially a comedic, poetic study of the complex dynamics of relationships, ‘Suhde’ begins with Nousiainen reading a book while Repponen crouches and prances around the edge of the armchair he sits in. Swiftly, this domestic picture develops into a playfully antagonistic battle, with the couple contesting control of the chair. Both performers hit the deck in turn, and the cat-and-mouse daftness of the chase almost makes you forget the feats of balance making it happen.

Here, a confined section of space has limitless possibilities: Nousiainen ends up plunged behind a cushion, cackling a muffled laugh. Having pivoted an arm on Nousiainen’s head, Repponen later falls half-asleep in the chair during a sequence involving a roaring Nousiainen hurling two huge kettlebells around like tennis balls.

There’s a hint of what’s to come in ‘Sound Barrier’, which will debut for one night only at The Old Market, when Repponen – who usually just about has the upper hand – cracks a snaking whip on the stage, breaking the whispers and laughter from an absorbed crowd of families.

She feels the whip has been given a bad rep in the past, and as a prop it still looks and sounds fearsome here. But Repponen’s whip is also colourful and capable of elegant precision, underlined by her bullseye ability to use it to separate the flowers from a set of roses held by a suitably timid Nousianen. In ‘Sound Barrier’, she’ll relate its power and beauty to the human body and mind, with Nousianen in the role of director.

Like ‘Väkevä/Lyydia’, the spectacular demonstration of strength and agility that claimed the space (and attention) in St Mark’s at the start of the festival, Nousiainen and Repponen are creating strange, sensuous, funny and challenging circus, underpinned by well-paced storytelling.

Aside from boggling at their immense physicality, what stands out is the pleasure taken by performers who might not have had the chance to tour to the UK without an organised season of this kind. More strands like this can only enhance the unpredictable charm of the fringe.

Sound Barrier, The Old Market, Hove, Tues 29th May 2018. 7pm, tickets £10.50. Book online.

Words by Ben Miller.

Brighton Fringe
May 29, 2018
Email
Ben Miller
Ben Miller is a SOURCE feature writer and reporter.
← PREVIOUS POST
Brighton Festival Review: Ezra Furman
NEXT POST →
The Great Escape 2018 Review (Sat)
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts Review
    Oct 21, 2025

    Expectations are high with a new Inspector Morse story on stage, sadly this is more a ghost of a Morse story, although die hard fans might enjoy it for the nostalgia.

  • The Lovely Eggs Interview
    Oct 15, 2025

    The Lovely Eggs tell us about their 20th anniversary, the new album and tour with Polite Bureax and some comedy legends supporting.

  • Ocean Film Festival Review 2025
    Oct 11, 2025

    A selection of beautifully shot short films covering diverse ocean lovers' passion for interacting with the sea.

  • Fractured Album Launch, Saturday 20th December
    Oct 10, 2025

    Fractured celebrate the release of their new album supported by Amelia And The Housewives.

  • 2:22 A Ghost Story Review
    Oct 7, 2025

    An evening of two couples having dinner together has never before been so gripping and enthralling, filled with tension, with the ultimate question: is their new house haunted or not?

  • Richard Hawley Review
    Oct 5, 2025

    As Coles Corner turns 20, Richard Hawley dazzled and delighted an up-for-it Worthing crowd with a 2 hour-plus set.

  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Brighton Fringe: Suhde/Sound Barrier - Brighton Source